Listen, Listen
by StephTheRiipper
Summary: A/n; Set after Zuulaman, but a LITTLE before Hekatah tried sabotaging Andulvar/Saetans friendship.   Andulvars interest is caught by a sassy Eyrien witch and he has a few ideas to capture her heart, but Hekatah has other plans.
1. Eyrien Arrogance

_'I'll never let anything happen to you.' _He'd told her.  
>'<em>Never?<em>' She'd asked innocently. He smiled at her.  
>'<em>Never.' <em>And he kissed her. It was different from the other kisses they'd shared in their short time together. As usual, it was soft. He was always gentle with her. She was the only thing the Eyrien was ever gentle with, actually.  
>But this time, this kiss, had a sadness to it. And it scared the fearless witch. It wasn't the fact that it meant something was going to happen. It was the fact that he was sad, even afraid, of it.<br>Andulvar Yaslana was rarely sad. And he did not scare easily. It was a part of who he was. Not just as an Ebon-Gray jeweled Eyrien. Sure, that was part of it. But an Ebon-Gray jeweled Eyrien Warlord Prince? Scared? Sad? Yeah. She didn't like that one bit.  
>Alarian, however, would not let it get to her, because if it got to her, it could ruin everything.<br>Too bad everything was already ruined. They just didn't know it yet.

************************* 

Knock, knock. Knock, knock.  
>"Dammit SaDiablo, let me in." A gruff voice growled impatiently and knocked on the door. It was Black-locked.<br>Andulvar Yaslana opened his dark, membranous wings slightly and waited in the hallway, and waiting was something he didn't do well.  
>*Andulvar? Didn't anyone tell you I wasn't available?* An irritated psychic thread sent along the Red.<br>*Yeah, but that was an hour ago. You should know I don't listen.* He shot back. *Open the damn door.*  
>He heard an annoyed huff before the door opened and a man stood in front of him. Saetan SaDiablo. High Priest of the Hourglass. High Lord of Hell. Black Jeweled Warlord Prince. But also Andulvar's closest, oldest friend. Saetan wasn't what anyone in any way would call bad looking. What with his dark skin, black hair, and gold eyes of the Hayllian race. No, he was not bad looking.<br>But, Hell's Fire! He looked terrible right now. Tired. Sick. Andulvar shook it off and walked into the study, past Saetan, and took a seat in a chair by the blackwood desk.  
>"I don't recall inviting you in." His friend said dryly.<br>"I don't recall caring." He countered and used Craft to shut the door, "so you're just going to sit in here and mope until you wither away to nothing?" Saetan blinked at him, acting as if he didn't know what he was talking about.  
>"Is that why you came? To scold me?" Even his voice sounded so pathetic. So vulnerable. But it still had that edge to it. The edge that would have made Andulvar shut his mouth, would have, if Saetan hadn't looked so weak.<br>Andulvar snorted. "No. I came to check on you. Isn't that nice of me?" He couldn't help but roll his golden eyes. Their eyes met briefly. Andulvar looked away and shook his head. He then stood and rolled his shoulders.  
>"Andulvar.." Saetan murmured gently, "is there something else?"Of course there was. Andulvar didn't have time for pointless visits. Alright. Maybe he had a little time. But, this wasn't intended to be a pointless one. Something was bothering him and he thought he'd let Saetan know. However, he didn't know his old friend looked as though if he had another burden on his shoulders he would break under the pressure.<br>The Eyrien walked to the door and opened it. "Don't bother. It's nothing I can't handle." He growled and walked out, trying not to slam the door behind him. Once he was out of the Hall, he spread his wings and took off into the clouds.  
>The door shut in his face. Saetan swallowed the lump in his throat and turned away, letting out a sigh. "Oh, Andulvar. Let's hope that Eyrien arrogance doesn't fail you this time."<p> 


	2. Staking Claims

The hood of her black cloak was over her head, and she kept her head down. They shouldn't even recognize that she was female. Or that she was Eyrien, since her wings were neatly tucked under the cloak as well, sight shielded too. The rainy day was most inconvenient, but it was no matter. Sure, everyone would consider it strange that someone was walking through the streets of Tacea, the small region in Terreille.

Clearing her head, the female Eyrien stopped to check her surroundings. A small number of people here and there, but other than that, nothing to slow her down. Hopefully.

She picked up her previous pace, head down, minding her own business. Several hushed voices drifted towards her from an alleyway, and she, being nosy, furrowed her eyebrows, moved closer and focused, trying to get a better idea of what they were saying.

"Bet we'd get a decent fuck out of that girl at the tavern."

"Yeah, if you could get 'er to spread her legs."

"Not by will, lad. She'd have no choice. They never do."

Forcing herself to ignore the burning sensation to call in her war blade and slice all of them into little pieces, she turned away. Too quickly. The bottom of her cloak had splashed against a puddle of rainwater and clung to her leg, trying to get it off, her other foot slipped and she stumbled, falling against the hard, wet ground, unfortunately, not soundlessly.

The voices stopped talking. Her hood lowered from the fall and revealed her face, with its somewhat tan skin and bright gold-green eyes. Her dark blonde hair was pulled back and at the present time, she was so obviously female. And those men were so obviously drunk. And that...is so not a good combination.

The men peeked out from their hiding place in the alley and smug looks filled all four of their ugly faces. Two Opal Jeweled Warlords, a Tiger-Eye Jeweled Warlord, and a Green Jeweled Warlord Prince. She could have taken them, maybe. If she called in her Gray Jewels, or her blade.

But judging by their intentions, she didn't have the time. Oh yes, she could have taken them all with her blade. Her prized possession. Whatever. That didn't matter. She didn't care if she had the time to use it, she called it in anyway, and stood, glaring at them.  
>They. Laughed.<p>

"Oh, look at this. Little winged witch, or should I say bitch, thinks she can play. Let's show her how to play, boys." Shields snapped up. From them, and from her. All of their jeweled strength combined against it broke hers fast. She was startled. But that wouldn't stop her.

She winced a bit and raised her blade at the Tiger-Eyed male, slicing into his chest efficiently. He stumbled backwards, and the others paused momentarily, all of them except the Green Jeweled Warlord Prince. This one charged forward and knocked it out of her hand, surprising her. She struggled with all of her might while he shoved her against the wall.

"Now listen 'ere, 'cause I'm only sayin' it once. Yer gonna be a nice lass and spread those pretty little legs of yours for us, ain'tcha?" His voice was rough, about as rough as his hands as they traveled along her fit body. She writhed. He raised his hand and smacked her hard across the face. The blonde just snarled and spat in his face.

"In your dreams, asshole." Lurching forward, she drove her knee hard into his groin, and that had the exact affect she'd hoped for. He cringed backwards, groaning in pain. The other Warlords moved towards her, obviously hoping to catch her. But they should have realized she was too fast. She'd grabbed her blade and took off out of the alley, not stopping until she was halfway down the street at the corner. Turning swiftly, she darted around the corner and...

WHAM.

"Running from something?" A male voice. An oddly familiar male voice...Oh shit. Not daring to look up from where she'd hit the ground after running into him, she stood and shook her head, avoiding eye contact.

"Running? Nooo. Not me. I don't, er, run."

"Liar." It was a growl that came out of his mouth. This time, she had to look. Gold eyes glazed, the tall, well built Eyrien in front of her rose to the killing edge effortlessly. And scared the shit out of her, "so let's try this again. Running from something, Alarian?" She couldn't lie. That would be stupid. So she did the only thing she could. She half lied.

"I took care of it, Andulvar." Alarian glared at him, trying to show some spine, "so back off."

Why was he getting so pushy anyway? It's not like she couldn't take care of herself. Mother Night, the fussing _so_wasn't cool. But, then again, it felt kind of nice. Being abandoned by her parents at a young age and sent to different orphanages all over the place after being thrown out of the previous one, Alarian wasn't usually fussed over. Quite the opposite. Not many people had known anything about her, so they made things up, and as much as she tried not to show it, those things hurt. In those places, being Eyrien was bad; people teased you about it, made you feel like a freak, tried pulling at your wings, bruising you physically, torturing you mentally. She felt like a disgrace.

And the one person that knew about everything to do with her past, stood in front of her. Ready to kill whoever messed with her.

He snorted. "If you took care of it, you wouldn't have been running. I'm giving you one last chance to tell me, or I'm going to retrace your steps, and, should I not find whoever caused this, leave this village in ruins."

She swallowed and looked down. He cupped her face with one hand and raised it so she was looking directly at him. Alarian bit her lip and took a deep breath.

And she told him.

* * *

><p>The door flew open. Saetan raised an eyebrow and watched Andulvar walk in, dump another Eyrien inside on the floor and slam the door behind them with enough force to shake the entire Hall. His friend snarled at the females protests and directed his attention to Saetan.<p>

"She's not to leave the Hall. I don't give a damn what you do to keep her here, just do it."

"I don't need your protec-" The witch began.

"Shut your mouth."

Saetan stared, confused. "Andulvar?" He said it slowly, still unable to make sense of what was going on.

"What?" He snapped as he reached the door.

"Mind telling me why I'm holding your lady friend hostage?" Amusement danced through his eyes as he spoke. He'd have to be completely stupid to be blind to Andulvars feelings toward this female. The Eyrien male was at the door, holding it half open.

"Those bastards want to play games? Let them play with me." He snarled it and walked out again, gold eyes blazing with hot fury.

Saetan stared at the closed door and nodded, all of the facts of this confrontation scattered around his head. _I have no idea what's going on anymore, _he thought to himself. In the middle of him rearranging the little pieces of information he had, he heard his door creak open. From the inside.

"I wouldn't leave if I were you." A chuckle escaped his lips as he turned his head to face the female in his study, "besides, I don't want to be on the receiving end of that." He gestured to where Andulvar had been moments before.

Rolling her eyes, Alarian stood up, crossed the room and plopped down in a chair, spreading her wings comfortably. "He's a moron." She sighed and shook her head, "but..who are you?"

Saetan sat down across from her, at the other side of his desk. "He's not spoken of me? How upsetting." He replied dryly, but smirked. "You can call me Saetan." He watched her and waited for some sign of recognition. Damn, if she had any idea what his name meant, she didn't show it. Then, she blinked.

"Saetan SaDiablo?"She asked and kept her tone at polite interest. He nodded, still studying her. She furrowed her eyebrows, "I know I'm cute, but staring is rude." She grinned lazily at him. "I'd expect the High Lord to have better manners than that."

A silence filled the room. Then, just as soon as that silence was there, it vanished and was replaced by his roars of laughter.

"You're quite odd." He managed once his laughter faded, replaced by soft chuckles.

"I've been told."

"Perhaps that's why Andulvar has decided to stake a claim on you." He smirked, clearly amused.

"Excuse me..?" Her gold-green eyes widened, but before she asked anything else, they narrowed and she snarled softly, rising to her feet.

"Is there a problem, Lady?" He spoke too soon. The door opened again and in walked a confident woman with the traits of a Hayllian.

She completely ignored Alarian and pulled a sulky, sexy pout to Saetan. A pout that kind of made Alarian want to rip her head off her shoulders and kick it as far as she could.

"That big, mean Eyrien man. I want him out of here. He's rude, he has no manners, and he walks around like he has more right to be here than I do. He's getting on my nerves, Saetan." Her voice, now that, well, it made Alarian want to punch HERSELF in the face. Repeatedly. Clenching her teeth, the Eyrien female stepped forward.

"Yeah? And you've been in this room for about 10 seconds and I kind of want to kill you. I think that's a record." Okay, she hadn't meant it to come out as a snarl, but it did. And she saw the Red-Jeweled Priestess widen her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

She glared. "And her too. I don't like her. She's one of those whores, isn't she? Who picked this one out?" Saetan bit his lip.

"Andulvar did. And she isn't a whore, Hekatah."

An awkward silence. Alarian took this time to call in her Gray jewels. The power coursed through her and she basked in the feeling.

Impressive. It was so obvious that Hekatah was impressed. And that was _not _the reason she'd called them in. The bitch licked her lips and smiled a dainty, mischievous smile. "Oh, I see. Well, Saetan, darling. I think I can..put up with them. Both of them."

_For now. _The words hung in the air. _Both of them for now. _Even after Hekatah pranced her way out of the room, flashed a smile again at Alarian, and left, they felt the words unsaid floating around.

"Who was that bitch?" She growled, trying to regain her focus and pushing away the nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen.

Saetan frowned and a dark shadow passed through his eyes. Gone before she could label the emotion.

"You've just met my _lovely _wife, Hekatah." And he _so _didn't mean that.

And that, too, scared her.

* * *

><p>AN; Was that a cliffhanger? I don't know. Ahh. Haha. Thanks for the reviews. :) Get other people to read this and I'll love you. Literally. Not that I don't love you now, but still. You get it.  
>Sorry if this chapter is bad. If it's good, let me know. :D Again, though, this is the first fic I actually like. SO HATE ON ME. Or don't. That's even better.<br>I was listening to Evanescence while writing this, so I guess, go listen to them?  
>RR please, you lovely people. Update soon.


	3. Three Words

Dark, membranous wings and the gleam of a war blade, held by a skilled warrrior. That was the last thing they'd ever see.

The feel of their skulls being crushed, inside out, while within their last breaths. That was the last thing they'd ever feel.

The Eyrien warrior cared about this particular kill, yes, that much was true. But he did not want to make it personal. He wanted to deliver the execution, clean up the inevitable mess, and leave. He wanted to go back to the Hall, back to people who understood. Back to his family, his friends, and most importantly, Alarian, the reason he was doing this, his sassy, Eyrien witch. The one who, although he would not admit it, had stolen his heart.

Andulvar Yaslana could deal with a great deal. But one thing he could not deal with was bastards who played sick games, who had nothing better to do than prey on the unsuspecting and think they can get away with it. And if they wanted to play with Alarian, well, they'd just have to deal with the consequences. One angry, protective, Ebon Gray Jeweled Eyrien Warlord Prince.

* * *

><p>"Alarian, darling, you've been staring out of that window since noon. You haven't touched the food we set out," the deep, slightly edged voice purred as the man who the voice belonged to entered the room, "I'm going to ask if something is bothering you, and if you tell me no, I'm going to know you're lying. Is something bothering you?"<p>

Yes, of course something was bothering her. She didn't usually sit this still, Hell's Fire, she'd been sitting perched on the edge of a chair for the last 4 hours. But he had the nerve to ask if something was bothering her? Well, he wanted an honest answer.

"He's been gone since last night, High Lord. You told me he'd be back in the morning. Doesn't it bother you that he isn't?" She didn't want her voice to sound so desperate, but it had a plea to it and it made her even more angry.

Why was she so worried about him? He can take care of himself. She kept telling herself that, but it didn't push away that nagging worry that was surfacing every time she tried to relax.

And then there was that Hekatah bitch. Ever since their first encounter, she'd been creeping around, almost like she was trying to befriend Alarian. That was one thing she could promise she wasn't imagining.

For the sake of Hell, she tried to sit next to Alarian during breakfast, also during which, Alarian had done her very best to seclude herself from everyone. But, she found it was so very difficult to avoid questions here.

"Hmm, If I didn't know better, I'd say you didn't hear me." Saetan smirked.

"Oh, no." She cleared her head and bit her lip. "What?" Saetan raised an eyebrow at her, almost like he was highly amused about something, but he didn't answer. Alarian scowled. "Well? What are you so damn...smirk-y about?"

"I merely said 'no, it doesn't bother me. But that might be because I'm not madly in love with the man in question.' But, tch. You could do a better job of hiding it. The both of you. But, hm, perhaps not." He smirked once more, turned, and exited the room, leaving a baffled woman behind.

Not for long.

Alarian growled and darted out after him, halfway at the corner of the thankfully empty hallway, she began shouting after him.

"I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH AND-" She stopped. She sucked in a breath and felt the heat rise to her cheeks as a familiar psychic scent swam around her.

She was probably a nice shade of red when a tall, well built Eyrien man turned the corner she had halted at and tilted his head at her.

"You're in love with who, now?" He asked, also amused.

That was going to change. Real fast.

Alarian clenched her teeth and broke into a fierce rage, but not quite killing edge rage.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You. You...stupid...arrogant...stupid...cocky...infuriating-" She broke off when his rough lips crashed against hers, shutting her up immediately. She felt his hands push her through a door of an empty room she hadn't even known was there, not breaking the kiss once.

No other choice, both decided by her body and her heart, she parted her lips and tilted her head into him, giving him full access to proceed. They continued this for several minutes, he now had her backed against a wall, his hands locking her against him. She tangled her hands into his hair and almost whimpered when he pulled away from her lips, but she was pleased when he didn't let her go.

She blushed again, and couldn't fight the smile that tugged at her lips when he smirked at her, a rare thing for this particular man.

"You said stupid twice." He growled, still amused. He licked his lips and leaned down to nuzzle her gently with his nose.

The Eyrien female shrugged and looked away from him, suddenly interested in the carpet. "Yeah, well. Not exactly a lie."

But, even looking away she could tell he raised an eyebrow and his face softened.

"Worried about me?"

"Maybe." _Or maybe I was just worried you'd left me...like everyone else does eventually._

He pulled her close to his body, in a tight embrace as he heard the pain behind that one word. Perhaps he had, for he knew of her past. Of how much she'd gone through. So as he stroked her hair, he contemplated what he could say to brush away her distrust. Her sadness.

"Alarian.." He whispered and pressed his lips to her blonde locks, "I hope you realize I'll never leave you. I can promise you that."

"Mm." Was all she could say. A tear stung her eye and she swallowed it back. His hands tightened around her and she had a sense of safety..of something else as well. But she couldn't let that break her walls down.

Andulvar growled something incoherent and closed his eyes. Not being the best with words, it took him a moment to figure out what would work best. "Be my lover."

He said it as lightly as he could, and his heart paused, deciding whether her answer would make it whole, or break it completely.

Three words. Three words was all it took to make that one tear spill over onto the most perfect man she'd ever known's shoulder, where her head was tucked comfortably.

Three words. And she could only think of one way to answer those three words.

"I always have been, Andulvar." 

* * *

><p>AN: Fluffy chapter is full of fluff and romance. Better stuff next time. :D  
>R&amp;R Please! I always read what you guys tell me and I love the critique and the suggestions. Sorry for any typo's, grammar errors, etc. I kind of rushed typing it, not writing it. If it's too short, sorry. ): I tried. Ha.<br>School started, bleh, so I can't promise speedy updates, but I will update, that _is_ a promise! Probably by next Saturday you'll have Chapter 4. Usually I'll get you a new chapter each week(7 days, people, I'm not wonderwoman, I can't do everything.)  
>Love you guys, so R&amp;R and have a lovely daynight/week. 3


	4. Prove It

Quick a/n: WARNING FOR LANGUAGE. AND STUFF. WARNING. 3

* * *

><p>Isolation was something she was used to, so it was no surprise when no one invited her to join them for breakfast. Or when no one moved near her as she sat in the corner, sipping her coffee slowly, examining everyone in the room.<p>

It wasn't that everyone was unkind and rude. No, no. No one at the Hall was like that. They were fairly friendly people, minding their own business and such. But they had no idea what to do with her. How to handle her. They were fine, smiley and talkative when she was with Saetan or Andulvar. But, on her own, they offered nervous smiles and small talk.

She didn't want to make them uncomfortable, so she retrieved her breakfast and sat down on her own. But, it certainly didn't help that Alarian had Andulvar's psychic scent on her, even if it was ever so slightly, as she'd stayed at his eyrie the previous night. No, that didn't help. She'd ignored the small smirks and slight whispers.

But she definitely couldn't ignore Hekatah. The bitch had bounded in the room and giggled like a mental child before plopping down across from Alarian and gave her a wink that aggravated the blonde.

"Ooooh, did someone have a sleepover last night? Do tell." That shrieking voice. Alarian resisted the urge to reach across the table and throttle her. Instead, she shrugged.

"I don't have sex with everyone who offers me hospitality, Hekatah, if that's what you're implying. Not all of us are like you." Simply put, Alarian took a sip of coffee as she said it casually, pretty much ignoring Hekatahs gasp.

A moment passed, silence, even other people in the room quieted down. One moment.

Two moments.

Then finally, "I'm not a whore, I'm just not stingy. I give a man what he wants. Maybe you wouldn't have so many enemies if you took my lead." She clucked her tongue and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Alarian lunged.

War blade drawn, she shoved the Red-Jeweled Priestess against the nearby wall, knocking several things off the table that was between them in the process. Startled gasps filled the room and nearly everyone who could do so, shielded themselves. Alarian felt Hekatah try to throw up a shield, but even she, as stupid as she was, knew it was no good.

The Eyrien female had risen to the killing edge, almost effortlessly and her blade pressed into Hekatahs flesh, not enough to draw blood, but enough to hurt. Alarian narrowed her eyes.

"Listen to me, and listen to me good, bitch. I'm only saying it once. I'm not going to take your bullshit and if you so much as breathe wrong around me, I'll chop you into tiny pieces and I'm sure I'll be able to figure out what to feed them to." Her voice remained low and hostile, but it was loud enough to ensure that _everyone _had heard her and knew it didn't just stand for that particular bitch.

They all knew better than to argue. The Priestess, however, obviously didn't.

"I d-don't have to listen to you. I'm in charge here." She whimpered, not daring to struggle against the blade, "you're just street trash that that Eyrien man needed. You'll be leftovers soon! Mark my words."

"Oh, I'll mark something, but it sure as Hell won't be your words." Her eyes lit with a fierce fire and she pressed harder into Hekatahs skin, drawing a small amount of blood, and watching it trickle down her collarbone.

She was so focused on her prey, that she didn't notice the darker powers entering the room. She didn't notice when everything went deathly still.

She only noticed the blood. The sickening, yet satisfying blood.

"Alarian." One word. One brutal, commanding word. The command was apparent, but she didn't yield, she only let her eyes flicker to the side momentarily. Saetan.

"Alarian, darling." Growling, grumbling. Andulvar. "Alarian, let her go. She's...important" She didn't hear how he snapped the last word, her mind fizzed out, "let her go."

And she did.

She snarled at Hekatah, turned on her heels and shoved past Andulvar and Saetan. She reached the front door swiftly and threw that open before spreading her wings and launching herself skyward, in an angry, Eyrien rage.

* * *

><p>Where was she? He hadn't done anything to offend her, he knew that much. Would it have been better if he'd let her slice Hekatah into tiny pieces?<p>

**No. **Saetan had reassured him that much. Now, where in the Darkness' name was she? He'd circled around the Hall and surrounding area's, he'd gone to her eyrie, to his eyrie. And still absolutely no sign of her. He was honestly starting to get angry and frustrated.

Should he not have stepped between them? Should he have just sent her a psychic thread and gently warned her? Or did he do the right thing? He had no clue. But it was starting to bother him. It was mid afternoon for Hell's sake! Even he would have blown off his steam by now. And he was an Ebon-gray jeweled Eyrien Warlord Prince!

That was when it hit him. He swore under his breath and made his way to where the Runs were. The Runs were an Eyriens ultimate test. Or just a suicide method.

And that was what made him take off at full speed.

_Have you ever wanted to die? Just to fade into the Darkness and not deal with anyone or anything. Mm, well that was sort of how she felt right now as she stood on the edge of the fiercest Run in the Realms. Dark wings spread, she prepared herself for the dive. She couldn't take it anymore. The looks, the murmurs, being an outcast. Some would say she brought it on herself, but she didn't care. She didn't want to care. She didn't want any of it anymore. If people were going to try and change her, what good would it do to stick around and become someone that you're not? Not much._

_Even though she'd been like this her entire life, she figured she'd lived long enough to realize that** nothing was going to change. **There was no way it could get better._

And so she cleared her thoughts, her mind, and sent one last probe and thread to the one person for whom she'd existed for so long.

*I'm so sorry, Andulvar.*

"So why don't you say it to my face if you're so damn sorry?" It was a cold, pain-stricken snarl. And on a regular day, it would have made her cringe, "because I think if you were the girl I knew, you'd have the courage to say it to me and if you really wanted to make it up to me, you'd live. For me. You wouldn't take the shitty way out. Hell's Fire, woman! You're an Eyrien, right?"

All she could do was nod.

"So fucking prove it. Don't be a little bitch about it, either." The Eyrien man unfurled his dark wings and took a step forward, a dangerous move.

She felt something inside of her snap. Her eyes glazed, fire lit in them, and she span around, balancing herself, but facing him.

"Why the Hell should I? Why do you care? I thought Hekatah was the _important _one. Shouldn't you be doing her every will, not chasing after a _nobody like me." _Oh, there was pain in that last phrase. But she didn't shed a tear. Her voice shook and she felt her walls crumbling, but no, no tears. It all sounded whiny to her, and she didn't know why Andulvar didn't just save himself(and her) the trouble and push her onto the damn Run.

Instead, he let out a snort and raked his hand through his hair, looking quite crazy. "Why do I care? Why. Do. I. Care." He growled it all loudly.

A pause.

"I care because, dammit, I love you, you crazy bitch. And if you go down like this, I'm coming after you. And if you die, I die. Hekatah means nothing to me, you mean everything."

Alarian took a step towards him, a little disbelieving, and a little part of her healed. She swallowed the lump in her throat. But, it just came back.

"No, you don't. You have no reason to. I don't even deserve it..." Trailing off, she looked down and felt her past depression settle in. Her loneliness collided with it and it was evident. She was broken.

And he had no idea how to fix her.

It went quiet and Andulvar closed the space between them, his hands gripping her arms tightly. "I do, Alarian. I do." He moved one hand and cupped her chin with it, "why do you think I stuck around all these years?" Teasing. It made her lips twitch upward, but it didn't relieve her doubts. She had one more question.

"Why? Why me?" A tremble of lips, she bit down on them and waited.

Her male counterpart just chuckled and pressed a light kiss on her lips.

"Because. You're perfect." _For me._

* * *

><p>Gold eyes watched the pair walk across the terrace of the Hall, hands locked together, tired expressions on both faces. Assessing, wary, but pleased gold eyes.<p>

Pleased, for now.

He shifted his focus from the seemingly happy couple and sat down behind the desk of his study, sighing. Whether it was a content sigh, a sad sigh, or a frustrated sigh, he did not know. But he sighed.

He realized that his oldest friend was happy with this female, but he couldn't help but wonder if _he _would have the chance to witness, first hand, this happiness. Maybe these thoughts were just occurring due to the recent loss of his youngest son. A son he didn't even have the chance to know.

Would he be happy if he had that son? Probably. But he knew better than to swim, and drown, in past tragedies.

Then something occurred to him.

Would he be happy without the woman who birthed, and stole that child away from him? Again, probably. Yet, he couldn't get rid of Hekatah. He couldn't explain it, he couldn't.

_Knock, knock. _

Another sigh. He never had a moment to himself, he probably never would. Such was life.

"Yes?" He purred, knowing immediately who it was.

**Speak of the devil, and she shall appear. **

The door opened slowly and in walked the beautiful, devious Priestess. Hekatah. She pranced in and gave him a sulky smile, mixed with a pout. She then perched herself on the edge of his desk and crossed her legs.

That was when he knew he was going to have to take care of something.

"Hekatah, dear. To what do I owe this...pleasure?" He hesitated on the last word, not telling the slightest truth. And he was pretty sure she knew that he wasn't at all pleased to see her. Not now.

She giggled, batted her eyelashes and leaned forward. "This isn't a leisurely visit, Saetan."

"I'm aware." Such a dry tone.

"She tried to kill me! Why is she still here! I thought you'd sent the Eyrien man after her to get rid of her! Why is she still here?" Wide eyes. High pitched tone.

Saetan could only blink at her and resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Of course, Lady. Because I always send peoples lovers after them to kill them."

"Lover? Surely we aren't talking about the same people? The Gray Jeweled nobody and your friend? Lovers!" Now, Hekatahs regular voice wasn't too far away from shrieking, but it was pretty damn close at the present time. "I would think people you associate with have better taste than _that!" _

The High Lord could have face palmed right about now. Could have. But he knew it would only cause more troubles. And right now, the only troubles he wanted was drinking too much brandy. Or any alcohol he had near him.

"I don't think you can control who you love, darling." Again, a dry tone of voice, "but I'm going to tell you this once, and only once. I'm not getting rid of her. As long as Andulvar wants her, she'll remain here. Is that understood?" Completely straightforward. A warning hidden under that message.

But, Hekatah just smiled brightly at him. Before replying, she hopped off the desk and practically skipped over to the door. She opened it and turned as she was leaving.

"Oh, yes, Saetan. As long as Andulvar wants her, she'll stay here." A devilish smirk found its way onto the womans face. "I completely understand."

And her laughter, her girlish giggling laughter, was still heard halfway down the hallway.

* * *

><p>AN: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE AFLDGLDFPHIDF:HDFHLDFPYODF:. School is really hectic and etc, and I have no good excuse except for school and laziness. Forgive me, my loves.

Umm, if this is long, or short, or whatever, I apologize, or I dont? I don't know.

I was listening to: Beautiful-Eminem and When I'm Gone-Eminem during Alarians little depression scene.  
>And He Is We during the rest. Sooo, check 'em out. Or don't. Doesn't matter!<p>

I'll write like the wind for the next chappie, promise! Also, typo's, grammatical errors, etc, I apologize. I don't use a beta thing(whatever that is.) Sorry for oocness and the like, and yeah!

R&R if you could! Tell people about this. I'd love more reviews, I love hearing from you guys, and I always read them. (Even if I only get like 4.) Stuff you wanna see/read? Stuff I should improve on? Tell me!


	5. Playing Games

A/N: Smut alert.

* * *

><p>And now it was official.<p>

Alarian hated children. So annoying. So bothersome. Always in the way and far too curious for her liking.

So she planned many ways to get rid of the one that was on her heels right now as she walked down the street of the busy town of .

"Don't your wings bother you?" The child asked in his squeaky voice. She snorted and shook her head.

"No. You do, though." She muttered and brushed her hand through her hair. She was going to string Andulvar up by his balls when she saw him.

Oh, he just _had _to stop and say hello to an old "friend". And he just _had_ to tell her to go on ahead, that he would meet up with her later. But, he also _had_to walk right by the park nearby.

Which made her the most interesting thing the kids there had ever seen, apparently.

How can someone live in Askavi and still be so fascinated by a female Eyrien? It almost was enough to make her want to ram her head into a wall.

Maybe that wasn't the reason.

One of the mothers had told her the children had never so much as seen Andulvar with a woman before, and he was well liked by them all. So it made them all giggly and curious.

And, well, pretty much ruined her morning.

'Going public,' as her beloved had called it, seemed to have many meanings.

To her, it _so_did not mean a bunch of snot nosed brats trailing after her and asking her many embarrassing, and just plain stupid questions.

Sure, most of them had asked a dozen or so questions, weren't satisfied with her answers and left her alone, but she'd had this one for about 2 hours now. He was about 11, far too curious and far too clingy.

And she had absolutely no idea what to do.

"Is he a good kisser?" He'd asked.

"Get lost." She'd answered.

"Do you love him?" He'd grinned.

"Go away already." She'd snorted.

And so on.

Now, finally, they'd reached a point of silence.

But she didn't know whether that was a good thing, or a bad thing.

She stopped walking and looked at him. "You alright, kid?"

No immediate answer. Just averted eyes and a slight swallow.

"You're pretty." He blinked up at her with innocent gold eyes. All Alarian could do was nod.

Then she bit her lip, or gnawed on it. "I know. Thanks, I guess." Furrowed eyebrows and a bad feeling about this, she looked away.

He didn't. "Will you break up with Andulvar for me?"

Alarian smacked her palm against her forehead, looked down at him and ruffled a hand through his messy, dark hair.

"No, I don't think that'd be a good idea, little shit." She knelt down to his level and smirked, "don't tell him I told you this, but Andulvar doesn't share. In fact, he's very, very insecure about himself. And having to compete with _you _would destroy him."

She was lying, of course. But the kid didn't know that. She said it because she knew it would avoid having to deal with a rejected little boy.

And obviously, it was revenge.

"Really?" His little gold eyes widened and she could see how excited, and smug, he was. **Way to stroke the kids ego**, Alarian thought.

"Yep. Honestly." She glanced up and frowned, "it's time I brought you back to your mother. Almost time for lunch for you. And your friends."

That should do it. Oh yes. She could see the wheels running in the boys head of who to tell this recent scrap of news to first. And that was the point.

He was silent as they walked back and silent as she handed him over to a very confused mother and a group of friends _dying _to know what they talked about on their little walk.

"Oh, hey!" She called after him, not even sure why she did so, "I didn't get your name?"

He turned around and Alarian pretended to not see the redness on his cheeks as he answered, "Wesley."  
>An odd name. Not Eyrien, either. But that didn't matter. Not really.<p>

She waved to him and took her sweet time before she returned to her loved one. But, of course, she had one more stop to make.

* * *

><p>"Andulvar Yaslana? Insecure? You really said that?" Saetan asked the woman sitting proudly in the seat across from him, so very in disbelief.<p>

She laughed and nodded.

"And the poor child really believed you?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly hard to sell to the kid. And hey, I didn't do anything_ wrong. _I was saving him from rejection that he shouldn't have to face for another few years. That makes me a _good _person, doesn't it?"

She pulled her face into a pout that didn't suit her features, but then again, it wasn't meant to.

Saetan SaDiablo rarely laughed these days, what with Hekatah prowling around all of the time, even moreso than usually.

But when Alarian was around, he laughed quite a lot, and to be honest, the woman was great company.

"You're evil, so very evil." He chuckled and swirled his brandy around in the glass he held.

Alarian couldn't suppress another laugh. "I think the proper term is Eyrien." The gleam in her green eyes was, for lack of a better word, happy.

They sat in a companionable silence now, drinking in each others company. It was damn good, for both of them, to be friends like they were.

For Saetan, it was helping along his healing process from the Zuulaman tragedy. And for Alarian, it was merely a relief. To be accepted.

But, friends like them could be so misunderstood. And people could take so many things out of context...

* * *

><p>The door opened. The man reacted fast, gently pushing the figure who had just entered against the wall by the door and shutting said door behind them, trapping them in the room.<p>

He knew it was her. How could he not? Her scent was too familiar. Too delicious. But he had business to take care of with her.

"You know I don't like when people play games with me, correct?" He growled in her ear, keeping his tone amused and teasing, but also trying to keep it assertive.

The obvious slack in her posture told him that she'd realized it was him.

From his voice? How flattering. Seeing as the lighting in the front room of the eyrie was dimmed for a reason, he was impressed by how soon she recognized him.

All she did was nod. His lips trailed along her neck and back up to her ear, where he nibbled on it softly, not enough to hurt, but just enough to assure her that he was kidding around.

"So you understand that the consequences for this game you've played are...most severe? First, though, maybe I should show you how to play, got me so far?" He mumbled it in a lovers voice, moving his lips to hers, parting her lips by tilting her head into him, giving him full access.

His tongue twirled in a dance with hers for several minutes, exploring, tasting. Only just barely starting _this _particular game.

They broke for air and Alarian smirked and gave a breathless laugh. Pushing him back until they'd reached the small sofa in the room, she shook her head and kissed him again, laying him down on said sofa.

Her eyes met his and a mischievous look appeared in them.

"Mm, no. But, maybe you can show me the rules." Both smirked, but Andulvar made the first move. He wrapped his arms around her waist and flipped her, making it so he was on top of her.

Just barely removing his mouth from hers, he slid her shirt off of her and followed with his own. He allowed his eyes to rake over her body before his hands glided across her skin with a loving caress.

He lowered his head and slid his lips from her mouth downward, tracing her collarbone, suckling and nipping in several areas, pausing on her breasts, planting light kisses on one while massaging the other with a free hand.

Alarian arched her back at his touch and couldn't hide the whimper that slid from her lips, almost pleading him to continue.

Frustrated by the amount of clothes between them, she took action and moved her hands, sliding off the remainder of clothing.

At this, Andulvar felt a stirring in his groin and before long, the arousal was too much.

But, he wasn't done yet. His strong hands traveled South down her body and stopped when they reached their destination.

Feeling a slight dampness where his hand now rested, he slid his thumb upward against her, knowing what the teasing would do.

It drove her insane. And she loved it.

Both aroused, she had no time to be embarrassed, instead, she moved her hands and tangled them into his dark hair, bringing her teeth to his neck and nibbling on the sweaty skin there as his fingers worked her from below, bringing several mini-climaxes and adding to the wetness spreading beneath them.

He shifted his position and bit down hard on his lip when his cock brushed her wet folds and her moans urged him onward.

His gold eyes clashed against hers and he kissed her roughly before he pulling away and growling in a bedroom voice.

"And _now_, we play."

* * *

><p>AN: So kinky. XD Sorry if you guys didn't want to see that, but I got messages for it and figured why the Hell not. I'm not an excellent smut writer, but I tried, even if I didn't go _all _the way. :3  
>The smut isn't important, so it's okay if you didn't read it, haha.<br>And thank you all for adding me to your favourites! I'm thrilled!  
>Not too many song requests for you. But for the smut I listened to: Midnight Romeo by Push Play.<br>You guys can give me requests of what you want to see, either on here, or on my Tumblr: .com  
>R&amp;R please!<p> 


	6. Keeping Promises

It was kind of hard for one to _not _know what was going on. Or what had happened. Gossip was always a disaster, but Mother Night, this was amusing.

Saetan bit hard on his lip when he saw Andulvars face as he entered the dining Hall. His friend was getting quite some stares and hushed giggles from other company.

He didn't think it was natural for the inhabitants at the Hall to be this fascinated by something as such.

He approached the Eyrien with caution, seeing a miserable, slightly frustrated look in his gold eyes.

"Is...ahem," he cleared his throat of all amusement, "is something bothering you?" As concerned as he wanted to be about his friends troubles, it was damn funny. So he probably deserved the look he got.

And the snarl. "No. But feel free to giggle like a school girl at me." Andulvar clearly wasn't in the best of moods, so, naturally, Saetan invited himself to sit across from him.

"I don't see anything worth _giggling _at. Maybe...chuckling softly. But not giggling." The man reached for the coffee pitcher and helped himself, "now tell me, whats bothering you?"

"Nothing."

Saetan clucked his tongue and shook his head, taking a sip of coffee. "Liar." He crooned afterward.

Silence.

"Now, I'm going to tell you what _I _know, and how about you fill in the missing information?"

That seemed like a fair enough compromise to both of them, so Andulvar nodded once, hesitantly. The Eyrien man opened his wings slightly and leaned back in his chair.

Hmm. Sipping more coffee, Saetan analyzed the situation and nodded as well.

"Your lady friend allowed you to warm her bed, that much I know, yes? I don't see how that could possibly be a problem for you—or anyone. So it wasn't the lovemaking itself. So it has to be..the aftermath?"

Andulvar ran a hand through his dark hair and grumbled something that even someone with the best hearing wouldn't have understood.

"Hmm?"

"She ran away after we... Not to mention, I don't know how everyone finds everything out so damn fast around here." He coughed and if it was in his nature, he would have blushed. As it was, he was embarrassed to even be telling anyone about it.

Ah. So there it was. The reason he was so uncomfortable and annoyed.

Saetan chuckled gruffly and shook his head at the other man.

He left a brief silence between them as he thought of how to phrase what he was going to say next, and so Andulvar had a chance to settle down.

"See, my friend, I'm almost positive she didn't run away from you. No matter how...Eyrien you are in nature, I have faith in your skills as a lover." He allowed himself a smirk and finished the last of his coffee.

Andulvar furrowed his eyebrows. "So...?"

"So. It wasn't you. It was the act itself. Alarian is a lot like you, fierce and stubborn in almost every field of battle and strategies and such, but so fragile in personal matters-"

"I'm not fragile."

"Don't interrupt me." Saetan said in a stern voice, "I'm going to say that her first experience with another man was unpleasant and she was unsure how to handle a _pleasant _romp in the bedroom, thus, she fled."

Averting eyes, Andulvar focused on the floor. "We didn't romp. We-"

"Romped." The man across from him nodded with the one word, his black hair moving with the motion.

"No! We didn't, damn you. It wasn't...we didn't...we were..."

"Call it what you want, Andulvar. Everyone else calls it romping." His lips twitched upward and a chuckle accompanied his smirk, "but anyway. What are you going to do about it?"

His friend shrugged.

"I'd say give her time. Or don't. Either way, she'll accept it. Patience is key, usually."

When Andulvar stood up and fluffed his dark, membranous wings, his choice was obvious. Saetan nodded once at the Eyrien and refilled his coffee mug.

"Screw patience." Andulvar grumbled before leaving Saetan behind, chuckling.

"Ah, but that's what got you into this mess." 

* * *

><p>Sure, it was wrong of Hekatah to try and sabotage such <em>beautiful <em>love.

But if she couldn't have anything like that, why should other people be so happy? _Her _husband despised her with a passion and wouldn't even spare her _any _money. Or a second glance.

How was she supposed to survive like that?

Maybe the big Eyrien brute had some to spare. That would make her plan even _more _successful and even more for the better. For herself, at least.

Why should she care about other peoples happiness and prosperity?

Every person for themselves, right?

Right.

Even if it was _so _wrong. 

* * *

><p>It was weird. The feeling itself was wonderful, fantastic. And he was such a beautiful man. So why did she just up and leave like that? Eh. She wasn't worried.<p>

What Alarian _was_ worried about right now was her choice of where she ran, or flew, to.

A children's park.

And she was swinging on the park swings with the same little shit as before.

Although, this time, it was silent. He'd already been there and she was flying over, and that was where they were now.

But...he didn't look right. Or the same.

She snuck a glance at him from the corner of her eye as she swung. Tears were rolling down his face and he looked like a bruised puppy.

She waited until she went forward, and then hopped off the swings, landing expertly in front of them both before kneeling in front of his swing, which had been at a standstill with him just sitting there.

"Hey. What's wrong? Why are you, er, crying?" Obviously she was concerned, but she was also Eyrien and while she had all sorts of other training, she was never trained on how to cheer people up.

His gold eyes seemed to look right through her, haunting. And she almost shuddered.

Almost.

"Snap out of it, little shit! What's wrong?" Maybe it wasn't good of her to yell at him, but shit, he was creeping her out.

"I'm sorry, do you want to hit me, too?" Watery eyes and a broken voice. Great.

And lots of confusion on her part.

"What? Why would I want to hit you?" Alarian was starting to feel frustrated and she couldn't help it. It wasn't his fault, but she had no idea what was going on.

And while ignorance was sometimes bliss, it was also a pain in the ass.

"Everyone wants to hit me. Punishing the bad boy makes things better, doesn't it? That's what Dad tells me."

The poor kids voice broke and more tears welled up, spilled over and Alarian reached out and pulled him off the swing into a hug, meant to be comforting, but more squishy than anything.

Hells Fire, though. If she had to smother him in her presence, she would.

She sighed. "Start from the beginning. You're confusing me, kid."

"Dad comes home, smelling like those drinks and tries to get to my Mom, first. But she's..she's stronger than me. She knows what to do. I..I don't k-know anything." As gross as runny noses were, Alarian didn't pull away when his sniffles sounded in her ears.

"Uh-huh...?"

Wesley let out a broken sob. "He calls me names and..and...he hits hard. But...it's not regular hitting."

Craft enforced beating, perfect.

Slipping. The leash was slipping and she clenched her teeth and tried to pull it back around her temper.

Patting his back, she knew something wasn't right.

"Wesley, have you always looked like this..? Or was there more to you once?" She couldn't keep her voice from the snarly tone it was so close to breaking into.

No answer at first.

Instead, more sobbing. And Alarian tried shushing his noises and when he quieted down, she repeated the question.

"Y-your wings are pr-pretty, Alarian. I w-wish I still-"

That was it.

That was all it took for her temper to break and she shot up, releasing the little boy and standing.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the Eyrien witch had risen effortlessly to the killing edge and this time, it was serious.

"A-alarian?"

"Stay here, kid." She growled and shot into the air, in the direction she remembered Wesley walking the one day.

She didn't try to hide her anger, her pure fury at what she now knew. She had no idea how someone could remove a kids wings.

She knew people tried doing it to her, but she didn't know how she'd live without them.

And she could imagine the names the poor kid was called.

And that only added more fuel to the fire. 

* Alarian? *

Such a soft, hesitant call along the Gray. Why was Andulvar so nosy?

So easy to ignore, but the rumbling of her temper along the levels below it probably gave her away.

* Are you angry with me? * Why was he so worried _and _nosy? She could take care of herself.

She snorted and was almost positive that he received it.

* Please stay where you are. *

* No. * She shot back.

* Yes. *

So they were playing that game. Fine, she could play.

* Fuck off. *

* Feisty. * It was a message filled with amusement and it just made Alarian all the more angry.

But it also made her land where she was, not so far from her destination.

* You have three minutes to get here, and after that, I'm going on a hunt. *

And she broke the connection, and began pacing.

Hopefully he understood what type of hunt she was going on, and if he didn't, well, he'd find out soon enough.

After two minutes of pacing, she took off down the street, startling bystanders.

And rammed into someone.

"Watch where you're going, prick." She snapped angrily and was about to continue when the scent came over her. She looked up and groaned.

"That's not fair. You said I had _three _minutes. That was only two." Her _lover _took on a whiny voice that, on any other day, would have made her laugh at him. Not today.

"Get lost."

"Let me in, or I'm starting a brawl in the middle of this street." She felt him brush her inner barriers and was too frustrated and angry at how her anger was bristling but she had no way to get rid of it with him in the way.

So she let him in.

And pushed him out when he got too far.

"Satisfied?" She groaned and went to make her way forward again.

It was the corner building, she only had a little farther to go, one straight path down the sidewalk they were on. But his hand held her back and pushed her off to the side, with him.

"Why do you care so much about that kid?" He asked, genuinely curious.

Alarian snorted. "You'd care too if you had your wings ripped off and your drunk father use Craft to beat the living shit out of you and call you a 'disgusting half-breed' or anything along those lines." She shoved against him, "I lived through shit like that, and it turned me into a bitch."

"I don't think you're a bitch." Andulvar smirked.

All Alarian did was look up at him with dry disbelief. "Let me go after the asshole, there's no law against murder."

"You won't be able to live with yourself after it, though." He growled and held her back, despite her protests.

"Wanna bet?" She snarled and almost smacked him in the face with her wings.

Why was he being so difficult?

"No, we'll figure out a way to help the kid. In a better way." Andulvar rolled his eyes at her, and was almost surprised at how civil he was being.

Usually, he would have told her to go kill the guy.

Maybe it was for the better that she didn't.

When she realized that he wasn't going to budge, she sighed and moved in front of him and glared in his direction.

"We will." He repeated.

"Promise?" She narrowed her eyes at him, but put one hand on his neck. He smirked down at her and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess, that's a promise." He leaned down and kissed her gently, reassuring.

Hopefully he could keep his promises. 

* * *

><p>AN: Let me beg for your forgiveness because of how late this chapter is. I've had no inspiration and I've been going to concerts and school is a pain and oh gosh. I still love you guys, though!  
>Well, I hope you like this chapter and I thank you all for reading and favouriting and reviewing(even though I got none for chapter 5, boo hoo.)<br>Mostly I listened to Anything but Ordinary by Avril Lavigne while writing. And some Adam Lambert.  
>For the Wesley part, I only have one song, and that's Heartless covered by The Fray.<br>So R&R, and I'll work my hardest for the next chapter to be up soon, but I need your reviews!


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